AR-15 Review: Del-Ton Tapco

A reliable rifle, but one thing I’d have to change is the SAW-shape grip. As you can see, the extra length and swell doesn’t do anything for my grip.

There are those who spend an inordinate amount of time producing lists that rank items. The top ten this, the bottom ten that, the “good” the “bad” and the “ugly.” Okay, that last one is a movie, but even movies get ranked. In the AR-verse, those who rank go to a lot of trouble to rank rifles and producers. Woe to the manufacturer who does not make the top of such lists.

Combining with Tapco, Del-Ton offers a nicely-spec’d rifle that is a good starting point. Or just a good rifle, period.

Well, there are makers of ARs you should avoid. But a lot of the talk is based on assumptions, small sample sizes and just plain “I had a bad rifle, so they are all bad” reasoning.

I’ve wanted to investigate the Del-Ton rifle line, but I never managed to get around to it, until now. And in case you haven’t made the connection, Del-Ton is one of the companies that some list makers love to hate. The Del-Ton carbine sent to me is a collaboration between Del-Ton and Tapco.

Located in Elizabethtown, North Carolina, Del-Ton offers a huge array of rifles and carbines, as well as parts for them, accessories and all the mouth-watering goodies you could ever wish to bolt to your AR. Many of the items they list are made by manufacturers who are on the tops of lists of “good” ARs, so it is kind of hard to square that with “Del-Ton isn’t good” venom.

Tapco comes in for its share (fair or not) of dislike, and again, I can’t see it. Sure, they may use different polymers, formulations that won’t stand up well to NATO-spec chemical, biological and radiation warfare decontamination. Do you really need that? And if you do, let me know where you live, so I can stay the heck away.

Marked with the Del-Ton logo, a stylized DTI, and with the flat-top rail slots numbered and filled, the carbine is smoothly finished and deep black. No purple or gray here.

The rifle itself is your basic stoner-style carbine, direct gas impingement with a 16” barrel complete with M4/203 barrel cut, and a fixed front sight base. The important parts are all in the details. Not that the details themselves are always critical, but attention to detail tells us a lot about those who make an item.

The front sight is fixed, but it is “F” marked and the correct height for an M4 carbine. While the rifle as-sent did not come with a rear sight, any you would wish to bolt to it will line up correctly with the front sight. Some makers overlook this and ship a flat-top upper with a non-F height front sight, presenting problems in getting the thing to sight in. Not so with Del-Ton.

About Patrick Sweeney

Patrick Sweeney is the author of many of Gun Digest books' best-selling titles, including Gun Digest Book of the 1911, Vols. I & II; Gun Digest Big Fat Book of the .45 ACP, Gun Digest Book of the AR-15, Gun Digest Book of the AK and SKS, Gun Digest Book of the Glock and Gunsmithing: Pistols and Revolvers, among other titles. A master gunsmith, Patrick is also Handguns Editor for Guns & Ammo magazine.

4 thoughts on “AR-15 Review: Del-Ton Tapco”

Why the sour grapes Jeffery T? Any rifle or parts are scarce right now and if you read the article the author states that the rifle was on loan and will be returned to the manufacturer. They make a great gun and is very reliable and fun to shoot and neither Delton or the author has anything to do with the inflated prices.

I agree.The DEL-TON was my first choice a couple of years ago when purchasing my first AR-15 type carbine,I looked it over pretty good and handled it,broke it down and the price back then was not to bad,plus it did not hurt to see that the weapon was made about a 40 minute drive for me from where I live at.The gun shoots great and I am very satisfied.Thanks for the review,now maybe more shooters will have a look at it as well.

Yeah to F-ing bad you cant get ANY parts or guns from this company. The author is snorting or smoking someting if he thinks any of these things are readily available for purchase. And of course they would supply him with a gun if ordered because he is the one reviewing it making them look good but for the regular guy like me who just needs an upper to finish for my oldest son I can forget ever getting that done brcause of the other companies buying mass ammounts of parts if and when they do become available or the person who is hoarding parts not for a personal build but to resel at inflated prices this article should address that